Franklinton poised for growth

Monday

Jun 2, 2014 at 12:01 AMJun 2, 2014 at 9:34 AM

With its old, empty buildings, artist vibe and proximity to Downtown, Franklinton has everything Adam Benner wanted in a site for his new brewery. Well, not everything. "We need more people," Benner said as he toiled away last week in the future location of Land Grant Brewing Co.

With its old, empty buildings, artist vibe and proximity to Downtown, Franklinton has everything Adam Benner wanted in a site for his new brewery.

Well, not everything.

“We need more people,” Benner said as he toiled away last week in the future location of Land Grant Brewing Co.

Benner might get his wish.

At least three housing developments are planned for East Franklinton, the gritty neighborhood across the Scioto River from Downtown, where people are working to change its direction and future.

Related story: Riders of all ages take a spin in Franklinton bike race

The entrepreneurs, artists and others who have put down stakes in Franklinton say the apartments and condominiums might finally tip the neighborhood from being the perpetual “next big thing” into the hotspot they dreamed of.

“If you had more people living in this area — condos or apartments — that would be huge,” said John Crispi, manager of the Rehab Tavern, which opened in Franklinton about 18 months ago.

• • •

The three housing developments on the drawing board are:

• Hundreds of apartments on 12 acres that include the old Riverside-Bradley public housing site. Casto, the Robert Weiler Co., developer Don Kelley, Smoot Construction and the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority are partners on the project.

The first two planned buildings would be five stories each with 220 units. Construction could begin as early as next spring, said Casto partner Bill Riat.

The number of units could reach 700, Riat said. A high-rise could replace the housing authority’s Sunshine Terrace, a high-rise apartment building that is slated for demolition.

• Twenty-five apartments inside two redeveloped warehouses on W. Rich Street. The housing authority has selected the Woda Group to do the work, said Bryan Brown, CMHA’s executive vice president of business development.

• Eighteen townhouses for sale on McDowell Street between Chapel and State streets. The Franklinton Development Authority said the project will be named Warner Junction, after longtime community leader and association board member Bruce Warner.

The projects follow a handful of new bars and art studios that have joined the neighborhood’s mainstays, including the A.D. Farrow motorcycle dealership, Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus, Gladden Community House and the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Franklinton also got a big boost with Orange Barrel Media’s decision to build its headquarters on a vacant industrial site overlooking the Scioto River just west of Rt. 315 in Franklinton.

• • •

The biggest endorsement for the area’s promise, however, might have been the May 20 announcement by Nationwide Realty Investors, developers of the Arena District, that it had entered an agreement to buy the Byers Chevrolet site along W. Broad Street and surrounding land for future development.

“I wouldn’t describe it as a leap of faith. I would describe it as a wise investment,” said Jim Sweeney, executive director of the nonprofit Franklinton Development Association.

“The investment community is ready to participate in what’s going on down here.”

Nationwide Realty President Brian Ellis said the company is still exploring options for the 8-acre site.

“We see it as a mixed-use site, with a mix of retail and residential, and it would be nice to bring some offices to the neighborhood if that’s possible, but the market will dictate,” he said.

Those invested in Franklinton see housing as the next step forward for the neighborhood.

“It’s just empty here,” said Alex Bandar, founder and CEO of the Columbus Idea Foundry, an artist and manufacturing space that celebrated its opening on Friday.

As of 2010, just 1,361 people lived in Franklinton between Rt. 315 and the Scioto River, and that was before the Riverside-Bradley housing development closed and was emptied in 2011.

• • •

Some liken Franklinton to the Short North before it was gentrified. But the Short North and other neighborhoods near Downtown are full of big, old houses that Franklinton lacks.

Nevertheless, Franklinton is poised to become the city’s next development site, say those involved.

“The development has been slow in coming, but … hell, there’s only one way to go — you’ve got to go west,” said Dewey Stokes, a former Franklin County commissioner who owns about a dozen properties in Franklinton.

Riat said developers are looking to take advantage of the new energy. “What we’re trying to do is create a community that is fun, that fits in with this arts district,” he said.

Rent in the area will be more affordable than it is Downtown, something that will attract suburbanites who want to live in the city’s core but can’t afford to, Riat said.

• • •

The city of Columbus has spent about $800,000 to acquire properties for its land bank to redevelop and build upon private efforts, said Vince Papsidero, the city’s interim deputy director for jobs and planning.

Five parcels clustered along W. Town Street, for example, could be put out to bid for a smaller housing project, he said.

West of Byers Chevrolet on the other side of Rt. 315 sits the Graham Ford site, vacant since the dealership closed in November 2008. And it will remain vacant for a bit longer.

Ford is not accepting offers for the property as it cleans it up, though there has been interest, said Shad Phipps, senior associate for commercial real estate broker CBRE, which is listing the site.

The area’s other big question is the future of Mount Carmel West — the health system is considering moving its West Side hospital to Grove City.

Still, optimism runs high.

“I think it’s going to be very exciting,” said Rex Brown, executive director of Glass Axis, a glass studio and workshop that is moving from Grandview Heights to Franklinton in the fall. “I’m thrilled to be part of it.”

jweiker@dispatch.com

mferenchik@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

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